Freud

Notes/Restrictions

Description

This course aims to give students an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts, vocabulary and theories of Sigmund Freud, the so-called “Father of Psychoanalysis.”’ We will read closely a wide range of texts by Freud, covering the earliest incarnations of Freudian psychoanalysis to its final formulations, including concepts of the subject, drive theory, the “talking cure,” transference, dream interpretation, and more. Our sights will also be set on the ways in which psychoanalytic thought has, from its very beginnings, been in fruitful dialogue with the humanities, broadly speaking—most specifically, literature, philosophy, and the arts, although we will also consider its relevance as a clinical practice. Texts will include: Studies on Hysteria, The Interpretation of Dreams, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Totem and Taboo, The Ego and the Id, On the History of the Psychoanalytic Movement, Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of His Childhood, and a selection of his shorter papers.